Looking back on Orangefield’s 99-0 win over Kountze in ’78

We had a reader, SUPERMAN, suggest we look up a game he played in for Orangefield where the Bobcats beat Kountze 99-0. Sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. Orangefield beat Kountze 99-0 on Oct. 13, 1978. Below is the Enterprise story from that day and the aftermath.

Headline: Bobcats club Kountze 99-0

KOUNTZE– Kountze Head Coach Clifton Thomas must have thought his Lions had hit bottom when they lost to Splendora 60-8 two weeks ago.

Much to Thomas’ chagrin, something much worse was in store, especially Friday the 13th, as Orangefield’s Veer rambled and rolled to a 99-0 District 18-2A win.

“It got so bad that we lost count of who did what after a while,” commented Orangefield Coach Ed Peveto folliwng the game. “It was wild.”

Todd Goss, with 11 carries on 220 yards, and Mark Netterville, with 210 yards on 14 carries, led the way for Orangefield, now 4-1 for the year and 2-0 in loop action.

A quick look through the record books indicates that the Bobcats’ explosion was the largest since Barbers Hill managed 99 against Deweyville in 1970 and the third-largest production since 1951 in the state of Texas.

Then, the next day, there was more news. These days, the coach on the winning end of the 99-0 game would probably get into some trouble for running up the score so much. That wasn’t the case back then. This story is from Sunday, Aug. 15, 1978.

Headline: Kountze makes moves; Thomas steps down

By Michael Getz

Sports Staff Writer

KOUNTZE— When a high school football team gets embarassed 99-0 in front of it’s home town fans, it is time for the school board of the community involved to re-evaluate the district’s athletic program.

The Kountze Independent School District board of trustees realized this and wasted no time following last Friday’s massacare of the Lions at the hands of the Orangefield Bobcats in meeting to resolve the situation.

The solution, agreed upon unanimously by the board, was to relieve football coach Clifford Thomas of his responsibilities at the high school level and allow athletic director Ted Tate to finish out the year as interim coach for the Lions.

Thomas will take over responsibility of the football program at Kountze Junior High School while current junior high coach Donnie Goodwin will join the high school staff as an assitant coach.

All of the coaching reassignments will be effective tomorrow morning.

“We had to take some kind of action following the Orangefield game,” says Tate, “because it was apparent that we were no longer competing.

Coach Thomas met with the school district superintendent Saturday morning and indicated that he was willing to go along with whatever change we felt was necessary. I will be designated head football coach in addition to my responsibilities as athletic director but the move is not necessarily a permanant one. The school board will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the season.”

…

“I can’t promise you any miracles,” Tate said. “I can’t even say for sure how many of the players will have enough guts to come out to practice tomorrow to begin working to turn our season around. We’ll be starting from scratch and the kids had better be ready to work.”

The only definite change that Tate can see immediately for the Lions is that they will no longer run the veer offense.

Kountze went on to finish that season 0-10. Orangefield did not make the playoffs that year.